I will be
by Reikajen
Summary: 2 weeks after the events in New York, Pepper is overburdened with work while Tony is away, busy with the shield...


**Hello everyone,**

**Here we are for a second Pepperony story… I hope you will like it. This story was inspired by the song "I will be" from Avril Lavigne. I thought it fit perfectly to them.**

**I want to say a big Thank you to Wild-Bananas who reviewed for me the fic and helped me to improve the English. So: THANK YOU, YOU ARE THE BEST :P**

**Please don't hesitate to review, I really want to know what you think. It could help me for my next one :) If you see some errors also, please let me know, I'll correct it.  
**

**And as usual, I don't own any of the marvel characters… Enjoy…**

**_I will be,_**

Pepper Potts was in her office at Stark Industries. She was working on a contract for one of the biggest clients that they've had since they stopped selling weapons. The meeting was scheduled for the next morning, and everything had to be ready. After many hours of working nonstop, she started to feel tired, her eyelids were getting heavy. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of her chair. After few minutes, she opened her eyes only to realize that it was already night outside. She looked at the clock, and it was already 8PM. She didn't realize how much time had passed, she'd skipped lunch and she was on her way to missing diner also.

"That's why this damned headache is killing me," she whispered.

Fine, she decided to take the work at home and to grab some food on the way back to her apartment. She would probably have to work all night. The idea didn't delight her much, but she didn't really have a choice. Anyway, she closed everything, put all the documents in her bag and left her office. When she reached the ground floor, she surprisingly met Happy.

"Hey Happy, what are you doing here?" she said cheerfully.

"Hey Miss Potts, I was just passing by. I didn't expect to find you're here. Did you know that it's already 8PM?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know… I was preparing for the meeting tomorrow morning and I didn't notice the time fly. And you know the worst part? I'm still far from being done with this," she said, touching her pained neck.

"You really work too much, boss! You have to get some rest."

"You may be right, but you know, with Tony and his busy IronMan-Avengers-Shield-genius planning, I'm almost running the company by myself." Her voice was full of disillusion, disappointment, and sadness. Since the events in New York few weeks ago, she didn't see Tony much. She was busy here in California at Headquarters of Stark Industries, and Tony was traveling a lot for all his superhero stuff.

"You know, he is trying his best to manage everything as quickly as possible," he said, attempting to comfort her.

"I know Happy… Make no mistake, I don't mean that he is doing nothing or whatever, just that…" She paused, closed her eyes and reopened them. "Ok, forget it Happy. Everything will be fine," she said, trying her best smile.

"I'm sure," he replied nicely. He waited a moment and asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going home, I'll grab some food and the way back and I'm going to finish this stuff," she said, showing her folder.

"Do you want me to drive you?"

"No, no, it is ok, Happy, don't bother yourself for me. I'll catch a cab."

"No please, it's my job. And if I let you take a cab and Mr. Stark finds out about it, he will probably kill me," he added on in a joking tone.

"Ok, you win," she finally conceded. "Can you stop by Tra di Noi for some takeaway Italian food?"

"For sure, anything you want," he answered, taking the bag from her hand.

They both went to the car. Pepper sat as usual at the back. She sat back comfortably, breathing heavily as she closed her eyes. She opened her eyes over again when the car stopped. She pulled herself together, asking herself how long she'd been asleep in the car. Happy opened her door; at least she guessed that it was Happy opening her door.

"Are we already here? Did I sleep the whole way?" she asked as she was putting her legs outside.

"Yes, you've reached your destination, Miss Potts." It was clearly not the voice of Happy. She caught the hand that the man offered to her and she jumped on her feet. He looked into her in the eyes with his well-known mischievous, smiling face. Even if she wanted, it was hard for her to resist to this expression. She finally smiled back at him.

"Are you free for dinner?" he asked her in very formal tone, but still with his smiling and teasing face.

"Not really, I have too much work to do…" the smile disappeared from her face.

"Pepper, you're killing me! Enjoy the moment, please!" he said, putting his hand on her shoulders.

Even as exhausted and irritated as she was, she was nevertheless really happy to see him. Finally, she let her head rest on his chest. He pulled her against him and kissed the top of her head gently, stroking her hair slowly. She just realized how much she missed his smell, his strong body, his voice, his hand on her hair… Actually, how much she missed him!

"I didn't know that you were supposed to come back today," she said, kissing his chest.

"Me neither, actually."

Pepper pulled herself away from Tony and gave him a questioning gaze. "What do you mean?"

"I just mean that "One-Eyed Willie" should be looking for me everywhere at the moment," he replied, proud of himself. She rolled her eyes but couldn't hold a laugh back on the nickname that Tony found for Nick fury. He grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go inside, dinner is ready and probably cold now".

"Dinner is ready? You surprise me every day Mr. Stark," She said, following him inside the Malibu villa. "And by the way, how come I ended up here and not in my apartment?" she said, giving a look to Happy, who was standing next to his car.

"I sent Happy to pick you after work to surprise you. But I didn't expect that it would take so long to you to decide to leave your office," Tony complained opening the door.

"Good evening, Miss Potts," the AI said pleasantly.

"Good evening, Jarvis," she answered.

"It is pleasure to see you here, Miss Potts."

"Thank you Jarvis."

Tony steered her to the small table on the middle of the living room. A bottle of champagne and two glasses were ready, next to what seems to be a bag from a take-out restaurant. They sat together next to the table and Tony popped the cork off the champagne, he poured two glasses and extended one to her. They clinked glasses and he gave her a deep and intense gaze. She could feel her heart exploding in her chest.

There was a wicked smile on his face. "Did you miss me?" he asked.

"Oh my god Tony… You are so…" Tony grabbed Pepper's waist, pulling her body against hers as he kissed her forcefully. Pepper froze temporarily, confused by his movement, before she melted into his kiss.

Tony broke the kiss gently. "I'm so what?" he asked proud of himself.

"You are such a jerk sometimes," she whispered as she rested her body on the couch.

"Yeah I know, but I try to improve Pep, I swear… Look what I made, well, bought for you." He took the food bag and put on the table Thai food from her favorite restaurant.

"Yes, I guess I can give you some credit..." she finally conceded, taking the box of food that Tony was handing to her.

"What about 12%?" he said, grinning at her. Pepper couldn't retain a laugh.

"An arrangement can even be made for 15," she smirked teasing him.

"Fair enough," he conceded, turning his attention to the food in front of him.

Pepper smiled and shook her head in amusement, starting her noodles. "So, what are you doing in Malibu?"

"I'm eating with you," he replied, gazing at her.

"I mean, you weren't supposed to come back for a few more days. You were supposed to be on some kind of "top-secret" mission. I'm just wondering, why did you leave?"

"I was missing you," he simply said. His answer left Pepper completely aghast. She didn't expect this from Tony, he was not this kind of romantic or honest person when it comes to expressing his feelings. So she stayed on the defensive, preparing herself for some kind of sarcastic punchline from Tony. Noticing her hesitation, he added: "I really mean it Pep… I know that I can be rude sometimes, and that you hate me for that. But, you have to trust me, without you, it's not the same…"

She felt really bad. She had been thinking that he would be sarcastic or rude, but in the end it was the exact opposite. "Ohh Tony… I missed you too…" she said, touching his cheek.

"Yeah! I knew it!" He looked at Pepper, hands up victoriously.

"You are unbelievable… I knew there was something hidden in that nice little speech… Is everything always a game for you?" she asked, half amusing, half disappointed by his behavior.

"Oh Pepper, relax. It was fun, isn't it?" She rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you know that I mean everything I said. I really missed you, and that's why I escaped from the Shield stuff. It was just fun that you finally admitted that you missed me too."

"I missed you, but I'm not sure if I missed your sense of humor."

"I'm sure you did," he said teasing her with smirk. She conceded a smile at him, thinking that he was not so wrong. Tony without this couldn't be Tony. It was part of him, part of his charm. It was just that tonight she was exhausted and maybe she needed more romance than usual… But it was intense to hear this from Tony. She set down her food on the table and gazed at him.

"I'm sorry Tony, I'm not really funny tonight, am I? The last two weeks were actually very hard. Everything became crazy since the events in New York. Everyone knows that Iron Man is Tony Stark, the CEO from Stark Industries. So, just try to imagine into what I had to fight during these two weeks. Besides, without you by my side…" She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them anew. "Believe me, I'm truly happy to see you tonight…" She caressed his cheek "… but…"

"Please! No but!" he interrupted her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I know that you are exhausted Pep. Believe it or not, I felt it when I got you on the phone this morning and that's why I'm here tonight. I can't promise you that everything will return to normal, but I will try my best to help you through this." He hugged her deeper and whispered in her ear, "No more two weeks far from each other."

She kissed his cheek gently "Thank you, Tony…"

"You are most welcome, Miss Potts" He pulled himself away from Pepper and looked at her in the eyes. "Stay for the night…"

Lost in his dark brown eyes, the only thing that her heart wanted to answer was yes. Her mind, on the other hand, was still remembering that she had a lot work to do and an important meeting the next morning. Unfortunately, one of the features of Virginia "Pepper" Potts is that her heart never wins over her mind (actually hardly ever, taking into account the night on the roof).

"I'm sorry Tony, I can't. I have work to finish and an important meeting tomorrow morning." And another success for her head! Dammit!

"Ohhh please Pepper…" he whined.

"I'm sorry but I can't avoid this…"

He interrupted her again: "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Sir"

"Cancel all the meetings and activities for Stark Industries for tomorrow."

"Tony! You can't do that!" Pepper shouted at him.

"I'm afraid Miss Potts is right, Sir. I can't do that, my protocol…"

He stopped his AI: "Grown a spine Jarvis, Miss Potts need to be released from all her obligations for tomorrow."

"Tony, this meeting tomorrow is really important and we can't just cancel it like that. People are coming from all over the country," Pepper tried to explain him.

"Pepper, relax! My name is still on the building, isn't it? So I'm guessing that I can delay this meeting to the day after tomorrow. The company will not collapse if we do this meeting 24 hours later," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder to make her understand his point. "And you know what, you will have the whole day tomorrow to finish your stuff before it."

This last point was a good argument for Pepper. Everything was not completely settled and unless if she didn't sleep at all tonight, it would not be ready by tomorrow. "Let's say that I agree, what you intend to say to delay it?"

"Got a date with my wonderful girlfriend. Will that not be suitable?" he said smiling at her. She shook her head, saying no. "Well, maybe I can say that I will finally attend this damned meeting, but that I need 24 hours more to be there."

"Really? I mean, you'll really come?" she asked shocked.

"I don't know, if it's allowing me to spend the night with you, let's say yes," he said teasing her.

"You are completely crazy, Tony!"

"Yeah, lots of people used to say that," he claimed as he pulled her against him.  
She rested her head on his chest, rocking by the sound of the arc reactor. Suddenly, she felt all the pressure of the past two weeks vanishing. This was so stressful and she didn't know how it would end. She couldn't yet believe that Tony had actually figured out that she was strung out and came for her. It was like a dream. Tears started to form in her eyes. Tony pulled her away as he felt her crying.

"Pep was going on?" he asked her with a worried face.

"Nothing…"

"Come on Pep, you can't just cry in my arms and tell me that everything is ok."

"Well, don't worry Tony. It's just that, you know how hard it's been these last couple weeks… I mean, I'm a strong businesswoman, and I know how to deal with this. I'm not used to crying or letting my emotions take advantage of me…" More tears rolled down her cheeks. "You know, you almost died two weeks ago… I almost lost you… And every single day, I believe that everything is made to made remind me of it. I have to deal with people who want to see you fall. And the worst part in all of this, it's that even though you saved the world from destruction, people still believe that your natural tendency for self-destruction will destroy everything. What am I supposed to do, what am I supposed to say to those people? I trust you Tony and I believe in you. I've always believed all these years. It's just that running the company plus dealing with all these things plus managing my concern about you is starting to be a lot for me".

Tony just realized how hard it was for her. All the pain, the tears she cried and still she never said goodbye, she never left him and god knows that she had already a lot to do it. And now he knew how far she'd go. Suddenly, the latest word of Pepper echoed in his mind. She said that it started to be too much for her… If this equation was too heavy for her, it meant that she would want to remove one of the components from it. And what happen if she wanted to remove him? What happen if she wanted to leave? She couldn't. She was the one who keep him from falling apart. No she definitely couldn't let him.

Tony was shocked and completely aghast as this though came in his mind and Pepper noticed it "Tony? Are you ok?"

"Are you going to leave?" he whispered

"I don't understand"

"Are you going to leave me?" She was taken by surprise. She hadn't expected Tony to conclude that. The silence between the both worried more and more Tony about Pepper intentions. He didn't know what to do or what to say to her to make her see, what she meant to him. Talking about feeling was not one of the good features of Tony Stark, but he knew that if he didn't do anything, he would lose her. That was not a possibility!

He took her hand in his and gaze at her "I'll never let you go Pepper. I let you get away for too too too long. I know I let you down, but it's not like that now. This time I'll never let you go."

Tears fall on her check "Tony, I…" He putted his hand on her mouth

"Sssshhh… Listen to me please. Your're right, I almost died two weeks ago and now I realized, how short could be the life. You know, I thought that I had everything, I didn't know what life could bring but now I see, honestly. You're the one thing I got right, the only one I let inside." He caressed slowly her face, she closed her eyes on the contact of his hand. "You're all I've got, you're all I want. And without you, I don't know what I'd do. I could never ever live a day without you. Don't you see that you're all I need?" He came close, dried some of her tears with his finger and kissed her lips softly.

"MmMmhhh, you taste like salt, Pepper" he said smiling at her.

She cracked a smile between hers tears. "Probably because of the tears" she said amusing

"I prefer seeing you smiling than crying, you know that?"

She smiled at him "I can't leave Tony… maybe, it would be simple to just leave you… But life is not simple at all. Do you think that just leaving you will free me from worrying about you? Worrying about your safety? The answer is no, Tony, it would not! I care too much about you for that."

"I care too much about you too" he answered simply to her. He kissed her again, she wrapped her arm around his neck forcing him to come closer. He put one hand on her back and allowed her to lay down on the coach. They both melted into their kissed…

For both of them, this night was one of the best nights that they spent together. It was the first time that they really talked about their feelings. Since their first kiss after the Stark expo explosion, none of them tried, it was just like admit that they love each other. He never said "I love you" and she never said it also. But what are really these 3 little words? Nothing actually… How many people are saying them without meaning it? Tony Stark was not this kind of guys and Pepper knew it, but what he said to her and did for her this night was more important that this 3 little words and meant much more for her. Because now she knew that what could happen, He will be here for her.

_I will be all that you want and get myself together 'Cause you keep me from falling apart. All my life, I'll be with you forever to get you through the day and make everything okay._


End file.
